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They still have 42 (give or take) minutes to cover what's left. They could manage it. There's gonna be a lot of action now and in animation it goes a lot faster and I still think they could add some kind of confession or something of that sort to show us Saki and Satoru love each other.

Unless of course they make it be about Maria, and how Satoru can't kill the kid because he's Maria's son and Shun said he wasn't an akki...

So far the anime has been going out of its way to downplay the closeness between Satoru and Saki (not that the book has a whole lot of it, but at least it makes things clear) to the point cutting them holding hands while they're both scared shitless, which is pretty much the most innocent type of hand-holding ever. I'm not hoping that they're going to change this. :/ If they do that's great (even though it may be too late), but I'm not holding my breath. :/

Spoiler for novel:

UNLESS they've only made them like that so when they'll finally get close and confess their love for each other it will make it all the more rewarding!

And wait, I can't remember. Did Saki and Satoru had hesitation on killing him because he's Maria's son and because "Shun" said he wasn't an Akki?

I only remember Saki being afraid she may die after using the weapon on the "Akki".

He was born like that, apparently it's a genetic mutation that runs in his family and it's connected to their power. (By the way his name, "Shisei" means "four stars.") The thing about Shisei, he's not normal at all: he can see through his mask, he has a 360 degree field of vision (don't ask how that's even possible, I mean physically), and his reaction rate is way faster than a normal human's who has a normal nervous system.

Shame he just had to run into that kid...

Anyway I'd like to know more about the apparent 'bleaker' tone that the novel ended on as well.

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http://www.freerice.com/ - For each word you get right, 10 grains of rice is donated through the UN to help end world hunger.

Basically, Satoru isn't breeding the cats because they're adorable and everyone wants one. Which the anime also makes pretty obvious, but the book digs into it a bit more.

In the epilogue you see Saki reading some reports on gouma and akki. In the book she talks about a report on akki and gouma that proposes a new hypothesis on the two conditions. So far the humans thought that akki and gouma were the results of spontaneous, accidental genetic mutations.* However, this new research examines akki/gouma incidents in the past and points out a connection between akki/gouma and events that happened 10 years before their appearance. It argues that during times when a society undergoes extreme anxiety and distress, the power leakage starts to affect genetics and increases the probability of the birth of children with faulty attack restraint and death mechanism. (I guess it's sort of like an unconscious evolution to get natural aggression back as a way of defense?) If a child like this is raised by mentally unstable parents it dramatically increases the likeliness of him/her turning into a gouma.

*The anime didn't mention this, but after the K incident they found that the genes responsible for the attack restraint and "shame of death" mechanism were either missing or malfunctioning (Tomiko tells Saki what the exact problem was but I can't remember, sorry). Which is why they killed everyone who shared his bloodline.

Which, in practice, means that 10 years after the bakenezumi war, Saki and Satoru are living the most dangerous times in the village's recent history, since children who were born soon after those traumatic events are just about to manifest their power. And, Saki thinks, if only one of them ends up turning into an akki/gouma, this time they're really done for. So after 10 years they reluctantly decided to resurrect the killer kitty project, and Saki can only pray that there won't be a need to use them.

Later on Saki also reflects on the nature of the change - sure, they will change, but how? She thinks that in the end, the attack restraint and death mechanism are the ultimate problem. Sure, they have brought peace and order for humanity, but they're too rigid and unnatural. A turtle may retreat into its shell to protect itself, but if a worm manages to sneak in it's lost. Saki believes that eventually humanity must get rid of these shackles, even if they have to do it by way of another large-scale destruction. Although she very much hopes that it won't be so, perhaps a new system will only be fully born and strengthened with bloodshed.

Of course, this just makes her hope and faith all the more powerful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piesum

Actually, is there anyone who can tell how the actual book ended? with the same scene as the anime?

Kind of, yes. The book ends with Saki thinking about her returning thoughts of a burning flame. She says at first she thought it was a throwback to her initiation rite, but now she thinks it's more like the afterimage of something unchanging that will keep burning, facing the future. (Sorry my translation skills are really not up to par tonight, someone should do a better translation of that...) It seemed to me that the anime used this image to tie its positive themes up in a personal and nostalgic way. (However, what the kids say in the flashbacks is all anime original.)

For all of you waiting and hoping for an English translation of the novels, Here's a company willing to do it if they reach a certain amount of interested people. (around 4,500 they previously stated.)

In order to promote this translation, you must live in the US, UK, or CANADA, have a tumblr account, and "Like" the original post. Which can be found here:

Someone said that in the novel, Saki and Satoru both imagine they're having sex with Shun while they're having sex with each other. Is that true? Because if so, lol. That seems extremely unhealthy. Yes, he was their childhood love and yes, he was tragically torn away from them and their memories were played with, so maybe they didn't have time to cope with his loss in a normal way. (Satoru said as much in the anime.) But still, I think it's sad that after all they've been through together that they're still obsessed Shun to the point where they have to picture him while they have sex. So, I really hope the person who said that was just making that up.

^No, it's true. It happens after they lose Maria & Mamoru, and if you pay attention to the timeline it's only a few months after Shun's death. If you think of the stress and the emotional mess they both are in that moment, having lost two more people whom they loved, it's not that surprising that they both end up thinking of the boy they both still love (even though their memories of him are blocked). Yes, it's messed up and unhealthy, but there you have it.

Note again this happens BEFORE the 12 year time skip, and for all we know it could've been a one-time occurrence. (If you ask me it probably was.)